


some closet, huh?

by LydiaIsabelle



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Alternative Scene, Fluff, Husbands, M/M, No Angst, Now with a second chapter!, Wedding Fluff, Weddings, also; god bless president Ellen Claremont, firstprince, got this idea stuck in my head and I had to write it down, henry is very very brave and alex is very very bi, just weddings! lol, soft soft soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-01-31 10:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21444460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LydiaIsabelle/pseuds/LydiaIsabelle
Summary: With the curtains removed, Alex sees hundreds, maybe thousands of people outside of the palace gates. A mix between Union Jacks, pride flags, banners and signs voicing their support.The world, Alex’s world, comes to a screeching halt.For them. For Alex and Henry. For Alex and Henry. For AlexandHenry.or; a sort-of au that explores Alex and Henry's first public appearance as a couple if they were just a l i t t l e bit more dramatic and impatient(also, Henry's wedding speech in the bonus chapter!)
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 45
Kudos: 324





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay listen up; I wrote this in one sitting instead of my uni essay that's due on monday, it's unbeta-ed and I can't focus on anything else until I post this but here you go my friends. hope you like it <3
> 
> also, before you read; the first two paragraphs are taken straight out of the novel, so they're all mcquiston! but that's where this story diverges from canon! If you don't have the book on hand, this starts off during the meeting at buckingham where princess catherine blackmails the queen lol

_Princess Catherine turns and crosses the room slowly, toward the tall windows on the east side of the room. _

_“Catherine, don’t-” the queen says, but Catherine grabs the heavy curtains with both hands and throws them open._

With the curtains removed, Alex sees hundreds, maybe thousands of people outside of the palace gates. A mix of Union Jacks, pride flags, banners and signs voicing their support.

The world, Alex’s world, comes to a screeching halt.

For them. For Alex and Henry. For Alex _and_ Henry. For AlexandHenry.

He has only really seen this happening outside Buckingham Palace on TV before.

Alex watches as the sunlight hits Henry’s face while Henry puts his hand up to the warm glass and exhales softly. He has his back turned toward Alex now, and Catherine places a gloved hand on his shoulder to get his attention, before hugging her son from behind.

“Oh my son,” she lets out a sigh. A beat later, she turns towards Alex, beckons for him to come, and Alex is too shocked not to.

Glancing quickly at the queen, he moves towards to massive windows, towards his future mother-in-law, and ignores the protests he hears Phillip let out, leaves him for Bea to handle. His eyes don’t leave Henry, even as Catherine puts an arm around his shoulders.

The world stands still, Alex watching Henry, Henry watching the world. Or his world, at least. And Alex realizes.

This man has had the weight of the world on his shoulders since the moment he was born, has held himself back all along because of his people and what the notion of a gay royal would mean for them. Like Henry himself had told Alex just last night, Alex has always had a choice. He could leave the spotlight if he wanted to.

That had been one of the few luxuries Henry had never been afforded.

And here they stand, the very people Henry was born to lead, and their message is so loud and clear that Alex, selfishly, desperately, hopes it reaches across the Atlantic. Here they have gathered, on the steps of the palace that have kept Henry lonely for far too long, and they’re calling for him, for the true version of himself that Henry thought no one wanted.

If it’s this freeing for Alex, God only knows how it feels for Henry.

It’s dead quiet in the room when Catherine leans towards her son, and Alex doesn’t think he was meant to hear the words she whispers to her son, but he does and before he has the time to process what’s going to happen, Henry has turned away from the window, from them, and his gaze locks with Alex’s.

_My son, they are here for you. Let me handle my mother, and go be there with_ them.

Henry grabs Alex’s hand, kisses his mother on the cheek and breaks eye contact to glance at the Queen. Alex lets his eyes follow. She still sits rigid at the other end of the room with a scowl on her face yet Alex can’t tell what she’s thinking. Before he starts attempting to figure it out, Henry has pulled him out of the room.

They’re out of the room before Queen Mary has the chance to react, but they hear a shrill voice calling for the guards to “Stop them!” just as they turn the corner towards the large marble stairs leading down the entrance hall. No one comes for them though, so Catherine must have kept her promise.

“What are we doing?", Alex asks but Henry just stares at him for a moment. a moment in which Alex can see his whole future in the depths of Henry's eyes.

They will really get to have this for real, wont they? The absolute truth of it has Alex mentally planning 10 different proposal ideas in the span of two seconds.

Before he has the time to think about it, Henry tugs his Alex's hand, and they’re running down the halls of Buckingham Palace and Alex would think he was dreaming if it wasn’t for the firm grip Henry has on him, fingers as intertwined as their destinys.

“Henry, I love you,” breathless, Alex turns to Henry then, continues, “I love you, but what’s your aim here baby?"

Henry slows down, stops for a second before cradling Alex’s head between his hands. The signet ring is cold against Alex’s cheek. He’s staring at a spot on the tapestry behind Alex’s head, taking a deep breath and steadying himself before refocusing his eyes on Alex and leaning forward and closing the gap between their foreheads.

“I’m going to be with you. That’s my aim, my goal, my reason. We are going to be together because I say so, and I won't sit in a big cold room listening to my grandmother berate me for it any longer. She always disapproved of my father, kept diminishing my parents’ relationship, looking down on him for his lack of nobility, but I loved him. And I love you. By God, Alex, I’ve been in love with you since we were kids, and I won’t have her do the same to you. She tried to ruin my parents’, I won’t give her the opportunity with us. You’re too damn important. Besides,” Henry finally pauses and breathes, glances towards said big, cold room before continuing,

“I think my mom knows that too. I think she can handle it.” However distant Catherine might have been since Henry’s father died, Alex sees the love Henry has for her in his eyes when he smiles towards the end of the other hall.

Henry turns back to Alex, then, and presses his lips to Alex’s quickly, before he does it again and again, and Alex lets out small laughs between each of them before hanging onto one, deepening the kiss by pushing his tongue past Henry’s lips. Alex pulls his own hands up to grasp at Henry’s hair, not really knowing what he needs but needing more nonetheless, but before his hands reach their intended destination Henry releases Alex’s face in favour of grasping Alex hands.

The whimper Alex lets out would perhaps be more embarrassing if it wasn’t for the smile Henry gives him in return.

“Stop, get a move on. If I remember correctly, you’re the one who said you’d be into making history, so let’s hurry!” Henry’s tone almost sounds impatient, and screw it, Alex is not going to refuse Henry anything today. Or ever. He laces his own fingers with Henry’s slightly larger ones agian, and together they take off towards the rest of the world.

Because he can’t stop himself, Alex keeps pulling Henry into hasty kisses as they run down the halls of the most notorious palace in the world, and for the first time, it doesn’t matter if anyone sees them. They get to have this, will get to have this for the rest of their lives, Alex is sure of it. The queen be damned.

They run down the stairs hand in hand, scrambling down the steps as quickly as possible, not wanting to let each other too far away ever again. When Alex almost trips in their haste, Henry pulls him into his chest to keep him off the floor.

They skidded to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, and Alex is suddenly hit with the notion that this is it. There’s a red carpet leading them to the giant stone doors, and all they have to do is open them. Pulling Henry’s hand up to his heart, Alex talks for the first time since those curtains were opened to reveal a future Alex knew Henry had always hoped for but never thought he would get. 

“Sweetheart, are you sure about this? You have my entire heart, this,” he glances down at Henry’s intertwined hand with his, just above his heartbeat.

“This is yours, no matter how you want to deal with this. If we go through those doors, that’s it. No more diplomacy, no more ways to spin this story. Our faces will probably be on every news media outlet in a matter of minutes,” he stops, tries to gauge Henry’s reaction to see if there’s any change in his behaviour, but his smile only grows, reaching one hand up to drag his thumb over Alex’s bottom lip.

“My love, I love you, I have held you in my heart since you first kissed me back. If I am to be one half of an international sex scandal, I want the world to know that you are so, oh so much more than that to me. Let someone else worry about how this will affect the image of the royal family or what implications this will have, I’ve done that for far too long. I want this, and I want you to do this with me. Let’s take back the narrative.”

If Henry can feel the way Alex’s heartbeat speeds up, he’s gracious enough not to mention it- he does, however, push his thumb into Alex’s mouth. Alex lets him, for a heartbeat or two, before he’s realizing where they are. He pulls his mouth away.

“NO, NO! Absolutely not, you are not quoting Hamilton to me and trying to get me hard in the middle of the _goddamn entrance hall_. What is wrong with you?” Alex half- shouts incredulously and pushes Henry away from him to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Henry, the fucker, shakes with laughter. “There’s paparazzi out there!”

“Thought it’d make you relax. Besides, haven’t you heard? Apparently, there’s nothing wrong with me.” The smug smile playing on Henry’s lips is simultaneously the worst and best thing Alex has ever seen.

“Oh, sweetheart, there’s still _plenty_ of things wrong with you. Your taste in movies, for one. Your taste in guys, however? Impeccable, but the world already knows that.” Alex retorts. The smug smile turns slightly dopey when he does.

“Yeah, they’re right,” at that, Henry wraps his arm around Alex’s waist and lifts him into the air, spinning him around a bit while Alex shouts indignantly and punches Henry’s shoulders softly to let him down. Henry does, after pressing a sweet kiss to the corner of Alex’s mouth.

“Now, let’s hurry before grandmother comes after us herself.” Grabbing Alex’s wrist, they’re off again, running down the red carpet of Buckingham Palace and laughing the entire way over to the giant stone doors. They nearly slam into them, the guards regarding them with a hint of a smile on their lips before Alex and Henry both take hold of a handle.

They afford the guards the opportunity to radio ahead to the outside units, to warn them that the Prince of Wales and the First Son of the United States are about to run out of Buckingham Palace and that, yeah, they might need some protection just in case, They get the green light surprisingly quick.

This is it. They’re about to change their lives forever. Not only that, they’re about to write some profound history. History that won’t have to be dug up and interpreted in the future. There won’t be any question whether Alex and Henry are, were, romantically involved. Unlike all those quotes that the entire world has seen in their emails that the entire world have had access to for the past few days, their love will get the opportunity to be open, and public, and _historic_.

Alex tells Henry this. Alex also nearly kisses Henry into oblivion at the astounded face he makes while Alex tells him this.

Alex doesn’t, opting instead to fix the few strands of stray hair on Henry’s head. They’re about to be in front of a lot of cameras. The Prince of Wales has an image to protect, after all.

The action is so disgustingly domestic, and the fact that Alex will get to _keep_ this, after all the misunderstandings, tears and late night phone conversations? Well, he’ll never ask his mom for anything ever again.

He’ll have to thank her in his wedding speech.

“You ready?” Henry says, and Alex is ready to burst.

““_There will not be a magic day when we wake up and it’s now okay to express ourselves publicly. We make that by doing things publicly until it’s simply the way things are_”. Tammy Baldwin said that, the first openly gay senator in the U.S senate, and she was right. I bet she’s pretty proud of you.” Alex says.

“I think she’s pretty proud of the both of us.” Henry replies.

They smile, and then they push the doors open.

The sunlight that greets them is ten times more blinding than when Catherine pulled the curtains away what felt like ages ago, but as soon as Alex gets used to it, he turns to see Henry already smiling at him.

They run down the steps of the palace together, toward the crowd of people that are there for them, and Alex hopes the White House is awake and watching, hopes America will wake up to the news that their First Son made history. He knows the tabloids Bea showed earlier showed teenagers outside his house, and he hopes he makes them proud to call them theirs.

As proud as Henry is currently making these people, _his_ people. 

And, Alex supposes, these people will be his one day too. He can’t wait.

“Some closet to come out of, huh? Henry jokes and nods to the fucking _palace_, and the smirk he's sporting is enough to bring Alex out of his thoughts.

Alex nearly doubles over in laughter.

“Ready to share me with the world?" Alex asks, and Henry grabs onto his hand, leans in real close and puts his lips to the shell of Alex’s ear before whispering a quiet _yes_.

“I’ve been ready to show you off since day one of this thing. Aren’t you America’s most eligible bachelor, after all?” Henry smiles.

“Was. I _was_ America’s most eligible bachelor. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m off the market.” Alex grins back. Henry kisses him in response.

And okay, _wow_. This is the first time they’re kissing in front of strangers not on their payroll, and okay, yeah Alex could get used to this.

The crowd breaks out in screams and cheers and chants of _Henry, Henry, Henry_, and that is something Alex can relate to, after all, and he makes sure to give them a show. Puts his hand on Henry’s chin and deepens the kiss, wrapping his other arm around Henry’s shoulder.

They break apart after a few seconds when Alex remembers that perhaps they are pushing the queen’s hospitality a bit, considering she’s most probably watching the courtyard and while Alex would like to send a very strong “fuck you” to her for the way she’s made Henry feel, he’s faced with an astounding truth.

The queen of England is his family, now.

He pulls back to look at Henry, this sweet, humble, honest, god of a man who Alex is pretty sure was made for him, and yeah, being publicly related to Queen Mary is definitely a sacrifice he’ll make if it gets him this. If it gets him _Henry_.

“Come on, you have to go indulge your subjects, Your Highness” Alex mock bows, and pulls Henry toward the crowd before he’s even started laughing.

“You know, I think that’s the first you’ve called me that instead of some horrible moniker of the word.” Henry shouts over the crowd’s cheers.

“Not true, I’m pretty sure I called you that when you wanted me on the bed, that first time, before you changed my entire world.” He leans in real close, this time it being him doing the whispering. Henry goes shock still.

And Alex, well, he’s a little shit, isn’t he? Because then, before Henry gets the opportunity to regain his composure, he spins around and stands before the masses.

The cheers finally die down as Alex gets close to the gate. They didn’t really plan for this, did they? At least the tabloids will record it. Either way, when Alex puts his forefinger do his lips to get them to quiet down, they listen. He kind of feels like his mom for a second, a thought that is as equally depressing as it is inspiring.

By the time it’s finally quiet enough for the front row to hear them, Henry has joined him at his side, and Alex quickly smiles at his man before turning back to the crowd. “Hello, Britons! I know you’re not here for me, but I’m just going to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything. Henry and I will never be able to thank you enough, but I will let him try. So, without further ado, The Prince of Wales, or as I like to call him,” Alex turns to look at Henry, and he can see the panic in Henry’s eyes.

Alex laughs. He’s probably right to panic, Alex has given him some pretty horrible and scandal- inducing titles during their relationship, but the tabloids already know all of them. Alex wants to give them something new. He turns back to the microphones.

“, or as I like to call him, my boyfriend.” He can almost feel the relieved sigh Henry lets out before he kisses Alex’s cheek before opening his mouth to speak.

Alex tunes out after that, opting to just watch the crowd as they listen to Henry. They’re smiling, and while Alex know that this is hardly indicative of how the whole country feels, knows how indecisive a country can be, they will always have this. These people’s support. The historical impact this will have, good or bad, will be pretty monumental, but none of that compares to right now, with these people who allowed Henry to be his most authentic self.

Later, he and Henry will stand on an air strip and Henry will give Alex his signet ring as a silent promise of later, and Alex won't stop analyzing what it all means for the whole plane ride back to his own beloved country.

And even later than that, Alex will speak before his own people, with a much more prepared script than the one Henry didn’t get but he will have to do it without his boyfriend by his side. It will be okay, though, because he’ll have his mom, and June and Nora, and the entire White House staff to back him up.

And afterwards, Henry will call him, and they’ll talk about everything and nothing for hours. Henry will talk about how Catherine got the queen to see their point of view, and Alex will show him a photo of a mural he found on the way home from the airport before they have mind blowing phone sex, falling asleep before disconnecting the call.

They’ll be happy, Alex is sure of it, but right now as he’s watching the man of his dreams address his nation with such happiness and honesty, he hopes anyone listening to this, or watches it live on TV, or reads it in the tabloids tomorrow or in the distant future will feel a sense of pride in knowing that your authentic self will always be your best one, and that there’s absolutely no shame in that.

(Alex doesn’t end up thanking his mom in his wedding speech, but Henry thanks Ellen for campaigning for the presidency instead, so it all works out in the end anyway. Things have a tendency to do that with them.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years down the line, Alex and Henry get married

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: oh maybe i should write like a little snippet from their wedding, its been a year since i published this and i've been thinking about it for awhile
> 
> also me: writes a second chapter longer than the first chapter, including a 10 minute long wedding speech because i have absolutely no self control AT ALL. 
> 
> either way, hope you like it!

“Baby, love of my life, _ husband, _ we need to get back out there before anyone notices we’re miss- _ fuck- _missing” Alex breathes out, his voice catching on the last word. 

They’re pressed up against the wall in the handicap bathroom at Saint George’s chapel. Henry currently has his hands in his hair and his mouth on his neck, not looking to stop anytime soon it seems. 

“In a minute”, Henry whispers against his skin before unbuttoning Alex’s suit jacket and pushing it off his shoulders and throwing it on the railing. Alex would do the same, but he doesn't really know where to start with what looks to be a very complicated uniform Henry is wearing. And Alex really shouldn’t let him do this anyway.

Alex lets him do this anyway. 

Unbuttoning Alex’s dress shirt and trailing his lips down Alex’s stomach sets Alex on fire, his skin burning everywhere Henry kisses him, touches so gentle and _ loving _Alex can’t imagine doing this with everyone else, can’t imagine there’s anyone out there who could even come close. 

Which, to be fair, is not a new revelation to him. That’s why he proposed all those months ago. That’s why he’s got it in writing now, why he stood before all of their friends and family and the entire population of the United Kingdom, probably most of the United States as well, and said “I do” like it were the most important words he’ll ever say. 

(It’s not. His most important words yet, he thinks, is every word he’s ever uttered to Henry when they’re alone in the early hours of the morning before the sun rises, whispered phrases like “I love you”, “you’re incredible, everything I could ever wish for yet more” and “come back to bed baby, work can wait until after breakfast”. Words only meant for Henry to hear. Those are the ones he’ll carry to the day he dies. But he guesses Henry’s soft “I do” and the blinding smile that accompanied it was pretty great too.)

It takes Henry starting to unbutton his pants for Alex to bring himself back to the present. 

It takes all of his willpower to tangle his hands into Henry’s and _ tug, _bringing them up to his lips and kissing his knuckles softly, pulling him close enough to erase the space between their foreheads. Henry’s watching him curiously, want and desperation written all over his face. Fuck, Alex loves him. 

“We’re not doing this here, baby. I want you spread out for me tonight, have you _ begging _ for me to fuck you before I even get you out of your suit. I want to kiss every inch of your body, take you apart piece by piece and put you back together. We _ can’t _do this here baby. Please let me love you like you deserve.” Alex finishes, reveling in the full body shutter that goes through Henry. In the ways he has to close his eyes to get himself under control. In the deep breaths he has to take before he can speak. 

“What if I tell you this is what I want? If I tell you I cannot wait another minute to have you, all of you, as your _ husband _?” Henry tries. 

Alex pulls Henry’s hand up with both of his, placing it over the steady, although a bit sped up, beat of his heart and peers into his eyes. 

“You have all of me. This beats for you, always. And even when it stops, history will know it did, ever since I laid eyes on you at the Olympics, probably. History will know that I belonged to you as you belonged to me. You are the absolute love of my life, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, and as such I need you to wait a few more hours and not fucking _ blow me _ in a public bathroom. I want to be able to tell the story of this day to our grandkids without blushing in the future, _ please. _” He feels Henry’s willpower slip by the sigh he lets out. 

Henry lets his eyes slip back down to their intertwined hands before he resigns himself to wait a few more hours. Honestly, if Alex wasn’t as in love with him as he was, this desperation would be hilarious. As it is, it’s reciprocated. 

“This is unfair,” he says, moving to button Alex’s dress shirt back up again and tucking it back into Alex’s pants. “You know future talk gets me all hot and bothered for you. Honestly Alexander, did you have to bring up our _ grandkids _?” He questions, sounding resigned as he looks up at Alex and hands him his discarded suit jacket. 

He laughs, checking himself in the mirror and trying to tame his hair enough as to not make it glaringly obvious that they almost fucked in the bathroom of a fucking _ chapel. _Jesus Christ, the sacrilege of it all. 

His grandmother would never forgive him. 

He turns to do the same Henry’s hair, matting it down before cradling his head in his hands, kissing him softly and tracing his fingers along the curves of Henry’s cheekbones. 

“Just you wait, baby. The things I have planned for you,” he trails off, smirking as he sees the deep breath Henry has to take, “I’ll make it worth the wait, I promise.” He says before letting Henry go completely. 

“Christ, I need a few minutes.” Henry says before moving to lean back against the wall, putting some much needed distance between them. 

“That’s probably for the best.” Alex laughs. “Take five, I’ll be waiting out there for you.”

He’ll be waiting for Henry for the rest of time. 

He unlocks the door slowly, throwing one last look at Henry before he leaves to find the rest of his family. 

* * *

They’d agreed to write two different speeches, one for the very public and televised wedding where they had to watch what they said and what they did so as to not cause a second international incident. When Henry had proposed the idea, Alex had argued that it _ had _worked out for them pretty well last time. Henry, while agreeing, did not change his mind. 

And so they wrote second speeches, which they would use in the intimate ceremony they would have next week. Alex could only speak for himself, of course, but that one was a banger. Not that his first one wasn’t as fucking romantic as the second one, it just didn’t have as many dirty jokes or queer history references. Oh well. 

Another thing he was sure of was this: however romantic and well written his speech was, he knew as soon as Henry opened his pretty mouth that it could never compare to his husband’s. 

When it’s Henry’s turn, he rises slowly and grabs the microphone he is presented with, the eyes of at least two nations trained on him, and he has never looked more ethereal to Alex. He looks like the royalty he is in his uniform, medals and all, the very epitome of a prince. He’s not next in line for the throne, but goddamnit, Alex would go as far as to claim he looks like he’s a king. 

Okay so maybe he’s a bit biased. 

For the sake of royal traditions, in the story the public has been led to believe, Henry was the one who proposed. Only a select few, the ones invited to their next ceremony, know the truth. The necessity to lie for the sake of the crown had been one of Henry’s reasons for the second speeches and ultimately his admission of “Alexander, I just want to be able to tell people what your proposal meant to me in front of our friends and family without concern for the whole country. _ Please _.”

Alex hadn’t been able to say no after that, not that he had wanted to. 

And here he stands, the man Alex gets to love _on purpose_. God bless the Queen and all that. Now that it was Queen Catherine anyway. 

“When I first met Alexander Claremont-Diaz, he came into my life at a time when I was hurting the most, feeling lost in a world I believed I had no place in,” Henry starts, and while while his eyes keep going between Alex’s own and the guests, he reaches down for Alex’s hand and meets it halfway, Alex himself already grasping for Henry’s himself. 

Afterwards, Alex won’t be able to recount most of what his husband said. He pretty much blacks out after the first sentence. Henry will have to retell it to him before they go to sleep. 

“And I knew, from the second I laid my eyes on him, that this boy, this whirlwind of a man who had accepted this new role as one of the most prominent figures in American politics, thrown into a world of chaos at such a young age, could derail my entire existence with his mere presence. I knew that he could upend the carefully constructed walls I had built around myself if I gave him a chance to. So I refrained, and I let him go before he barely even got to say hello.” 

Oh god, Alex loves him. 

“I knew,” Henry continues. “I knew people compared him to me, portraying him as the closest thing the U.S had to royalty, but to me he was a species of his own. He was bright and self assured and so secure in who he was as a person, everything I believed I would never be strong enough, brave enough, to be, and so I watched for years from afar, in awe of this boy, this _ man _ who inspired me in ways he does not even know. To this day, I am not sure he will ever know what that meant to me.” 

_ I know, _ Alex wants to tell him. _ You have done the same to me. _

“When we became friends, after years of me admiring him from across the world, keeping up to date with American politics with perhaps too keen of an interest in the First Son rather than the actual President,” he says before shooting an apology to Alex’s mom and continuing, “I quickly came to realise that whatever idea of him I had constructed in my head over the years paled in comparison to the real Alexander Claremont-Diaz. When I kissed him for the first time, well, safe to say my entire existence was derailed. It was perhaps the greatest gamble of my life, and at the time, I did not think it would actually work.” 

Alex is going to have this man for the rest of his life. This man, whose mere existence had made Alex question everything he thought he knew. Alex can’t fucking wait. Henry continues. 

“Our relationship ever since has been the most sure thing in my life. Even when it felt unstable and uncertain, when I thought I had lost you or ruined us, the idea that I would always _ have had _you kept me from insanity.” Henry addresses him directly now, and Alex is unsure if he’ll be able to handle whatever comes next.

“When the world got to read our most intimate correspondences, when the ground we built our lives upon vanished from underneath us, you refused to let it change anything. You were there when I needed you the absolute most, and you stood your ground when I was unable to. I will never be able to thank you enough, but God knows I’ll try.” 

Alex is not entirely sure how he is supposed to be expected to survive this. 

“Being able to grow beside you is a great gift bestowed on me and I vow to you, Alexander darling, to never take that for granted. I believe we have made each other stronger, made each other better. I vow to always be a pillar for you to fall back on, to always make you coffee in the mornings and tea before bed. I vow to you that whenever we must be apart with an ocean between us, my heart will still beat for you. As it always will. And after we have gone, I am comforted by the assurance that history will remember us. History will know that I belonged to you as you belonged to me.” 

Henry smiles, and it is not lost on Alex that he’s parroting Alex’s own words from earlier in the bathroom back to him. Luckily for him, Alex loves him enough to let him get away with it. 

“I feel the need to thank a few people who got Alexander and I to where we are today. I want to thank Pez Okonjo for being there for me before I knew I was worth his love, and for sticking by me when I was figuring out who I was”. Pez is seated on Henry’s side of the table, and he briefly turns to look at him when he speaks. Alex still can’t take his eyes away from Henry. 

“I want to thank Nora Holleran, for doing the same with Alexander on the other side of the ocean. He’s spoken highly of you since the day we properly met, and you are very dear to the both of us. Now, Alexander does not know that I have read parts of his speech already,” Henry says, and Alex squawks, 

“You have _ what? _How? When?” He asks, voice shrill while the hall practically shakes with laughter. Henry looks back at him amused before taking pity on him and replying. 

“You accidentally emailed it to me a few weeks ago and I read some parts of it before I realized what it was. I do apologize dear, but we do email each other quite a lot, enough for me to not think it as anything out of the ordinary. Now darling, will you let me continue? He asks, looking for the agreement he knows he already has. 

“Yeah yeah, I suppose I should be happy I’ve made a lot of changes since then” Alex replies before relaxing again, squeezing Henry’s hand a silent go-ahead

“Nora. From what I read in his speech, and from everything he’s ever told me about you, I know we would not be here today if not for your genius. You have my undying gratitude for bringing Alexander to me.” 

Alex turns to look at Nora himself, and she’s already crying and smiling up at Henry, gaze locked with him for a brief moment before he continues. 

“I want to thank our sisters Bea and June, who have had to deal with our messes around the clock for years now and barely complain about it. They have helped raise us since we were both kids, and have been in our corner ever since. To my own sister, you have been an inspiration to me since I was old enough to know what inspiration meant. Alexander and I love you both greatly”. Bea and June are both crying, which comes as a surprise to absolutely no one in their family. 

Before he continues, Henry looks back down at him with pure unadulterated adoration and love in his eyes and Alex, for probably the hundredth time today, thanks whatever entity out there that made this happen for him, for _ them _ . Then Henry focuses his eyes past Alex, and he realises Henry’s looking at his _ parents _. 

“Oscar Diaz and Ellen Claremont. When writing this speech, I was unsure of where to begin, and it felt as if all my years of schooling at the most prestigious schools in the world had not given me the words to which I could use to describe how thankful I am for your interest in politics”, Henry starts, and both of his parents laugh before wiping away stray tears. Alex watches both of them, watches them look at Henry the same way they look at him and Bea, and the realization settles something in Alex he did not know needed to be settled. He’s known Henry is family to him for a long time now, but now, Henry gets to be family _ period. _

Holy shit. 

Before Alex can lose himself in this new revelation fully, he brings his focus back to Henry and catches the last part of this part of the speech. 

“And to you, Ellen, when you became the President of the United States you not only made history for yourself, but you ensured the chain of events that afforded Alexander and I the same opportunity. Both you and Oscar created this boy, this other half of my soul, and then had the absolute _ audacity _to bring him into my life. And when we were lost, when we were scared we had wreaked havoc and international politics, you stood by us even when it came with a great potential loss for you and your career. You stood by us when many would not. I will never, not during my lifetime, be able to thank you enough Ellen, but I promise I will try”. 

Alex was crying, there was no point in hiding it now. His mother’s “the things we do for our sons” comment decidedly does _ not _help. Henry turns back to the guests, microphone in his slightly shaking hands, and finally addresses his nation. Their nation. 

“Lastly, to the people of the Commonwealth, your acceptance and love that day on the steps of Buckingham Palace was a manifestation of something I had never dared to hope for. I struggled my entire childhood to try to be enough for you, to make sure I was worthy of the title I was born with, that I was worthy of your reverence and support. I hope I have made you proud”. 

Henry turns back to Alex then, leaning down to press their foreheads together briefly before standing back up again, speaking into the mic for the last time for the evening. 

“There have been many great love stories before us, ones that did not make it into the history books. If there is anything, any aspect of my life that I want documented and preserved, it is what I am about to say next. When I saw you, Alexander, that first time at the Olympics, I was feeling lost in a world I believed I had no place in. I have found it now, right beside you. You are the absolute love of my life, Alexander Claremont-Diaz, and the notion that I get to be yours for the rest of time is one I will never take for granted. I love you. On purpose.”

Alex considers it a small mercy that he doesn't pass out right there in front of the entire world. Although, he thinks, he could hardly be blamed if he did. 

Henry hands the microphone to one of the servers before sitting back down again and finally, _ finally, _ it’s just them again. Well, the cameras are still on, but he’s got _ his _Henry back, not a prince. Just Henry. 

Alex fucking loves Just Henry. 

“Did you like it?” Henry asks with a grin, the absolute bastard, like he can’t see the tears in Alex’s eyes. Alex opens his mouth to answer but words fail him, and he can’t find any words that describe how he’s feeling right now, the immense love he has for this man, the excitement he has for their future together. So he does what he always does to flip the tables on Henry, to make him the flustered one. 

He leans in close, makes sure no one is close enough to hear him, and places his hand on Henry’s chest before putting his lips close to his ear. 

“You are going to be _ so _happy I didn’t let you blow me in the bathroom. You’re going to be rewarded for that tonight, I promise you. You won’t be able to walk for days.”

Nobody else catches how Henry’s breath hitches, how his body goes rigid for just a second before he’s able to reign in his emotions. Years of media training has prepared him for this, Alex knows. To make it easier on Henry, Alex leans back and squeezes his hand again, smiling innocently at him before turning and starting a conversation with his mother in an attempt to bring his own nerves down before it’s his turn to hold a speech. 

* * *

Later, it’s Alex’s turn to stand in front of the entire world and declare his love for Henry for ten minutes straight. Henry, the absolute bastard, mouths along to the parts of the speech he’s read because _ of course _ he’s memorised it. By the end of it, however, he’s crying, the Queen is crying, even Phillip is crying because Alex took pity on him and thanked him in his speech. To Phillip’s credit, his and Henry’s relationship had greatly improved since Queen Catherine took the throne. 

They dance and mingle and don’t leave each other for the rest of the night. They don’t even stumble into the wedding cake, even though Alex suggests it. And when they get home, they fall into each other as soon as Henry carries Alex over the threshold because “it’s _ tradition, _Alex” and they don’t fall asleep until they hear the sound of London waking up for a new day. 

Their first day together as_ husbands._

Alex can’t fucking wait for all of the rest of them.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few notes i had while writing this chapter: 
> 
> the OUTFITS - idfk okay i looked up what prince harry wore and based henry's outfit off of that but i have no idea what the hell Alex would wear so just imagine him in a veeeeery expensive tux ig 
> 
> \- yes i killed the queen SO WHAT? i'd do it again fuck her
> 
> \- i don't KNOW how to make henry sound british PLS HOW DO PEOPLE DO IT?
> 
> \- fun fact! i timed henry's speech, it's like ten minutes long and 1.2k words i have no idea how i thought i'd make this whole thing less than 1k 
> 
> if you want to leave kudos or comments that would be greatly appreciated! it warms my heart to hear your opinions on things! 
> 
> love you all sm hope u have a nice end of the year! <3

**Author's Note:**

> these boys are so beautifully written, I could never do them justice, but at least I tried, right? mcquiston is a genius for writing something this intricate, complicated and beautiful in her d e b u t novel, I was absolutely f l o o r e d when I read it the first time. which was in rome during a vacation where I binge-read it one night and then got my friend to stay up the next night just to read it. to say I've wanted to write something for this universe for a long time would be an understatement <333
> 
> kudos and comments would be so so appreciated, please do leave some if you liked it <3


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